Staff recommends direct sale of 5.8 acres in Cripple Creek 2 to adjoining owners

Danny Welch of borough land management presented a proposed direct sale on Aug. 21 to the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly committee of the whole for an approximately 5.8-acre portion of Tract D4 in the Cripple Creek 2 subdivision.

Welch said the buyers are adjoining owners Sarah and Steven Masterman. Under borough code, an adjoining owner who shares a boundary (not merely a corner or across a road) may request up to 40 acres via direct sale; the process requires notice to other adjoining owners and, if others participate, the sale becomes a closed sealed-bid process. In this case, Welch said no other adjoining owners opted to participate.

He described the parcel as a residual piece of a larger tract (D4) that was originally large and later split into four lots; the smaller 5.8-acre request would not require a rezone (the larger tract remains in its current RE-2 designation). Welch said sale contingencies would include the buyer paying 10% above fair market value and covering subdivision and appraisal costs at the buyer's expense. Welch also told the committee that the borough has no planned public use for the parcel and that existing protected access routes and trails would not be blocked by the sale.

The assembly asked whether the buyer intended to plant apples; Welch did not know the buyer's intent and invited the Mastermans to participate in next week's meeting. A member noted that Dr. Masterman previously served as a state geologist and had taught apple grafting at the university, an anecdote offered by an assembly member.

The committee accepted the staff report and had no further questions; no sale was approved at this meeting.